Monthly Bulletin – July 2025

LICENSEE ACTIVITY

In June, several financial institutions underwent regulatory activity in California. See the links below for more information.

Bank Activity

Merger

EH National Bank, Los Angeles, to merge with and into Genesis Bank, Newport Beach
Effected: 6/13/25

Credit Union Activity

Conversion

Orange County’s Credit Union, Santa Ana, to convert to federal charter
Filed: 5/23/25

Premium Finance Company Activity

New Premium Finance Company

Apex Finance Inc.
510 Myrtle Avenue, South San Francisco
Opened: 8/09/24

Foreign (Other State) Bank Activity

New Office

New Millennium Bank
2970 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles (Facility – insured bank)
Opened: 2/01/24

Discontinuance

Emigrant Bank
8730 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood
Discontinued: 12/31/23

Money Transmitter Activity

New Money Transmitter

Digital Wallet US LLC
Opened: 6/25/25

Flywire Global Corp.
Filed: 6/02/25

Acquisition of Control

Arrow Borrower 2025, Inc. to acquire control of AvidXchange, Inc.
Filed: 6/23/25

Voyager Parent, LLC to acquire control of Everi MTL, LLC
Approved: 6/30/25

Change of Name

Tilia LLC to change its name to Thunes Financial Services, LLC
Effected: 6/04/25

Voluntary Surrender

PayQwick, Inc.
Effected: 6/20/25

DFPI Fines Coinme $300,000 Related to Crypto Kiosk Violations, Secures $51,700 in Restitution for Victims

We entered into a consent order with Seattle-based Coinme, Inc. (Coinme), a crypto kiosk operator, for non-compliance with the state’s Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). Read more.

DFPI Holds the Line on Bank, Money Transmitter Assessments; Slight Increase for Credit Unions

Banks, Foreign Banks, Industrial Banks, and Trust Companies

The 2025-26 assessment rate was set at $2.08 per $1,000 of assets, unchanged from last year’s rate. DFPI emailed invoices on Jul 1. Invoices are payable in 30 days, with an additional week allowed for payments made via electronic funds transfers (EFT). If you have any questions about the calculation of the assessment for your bank, please refer to How to Calculate Your Assessment for banks (PDF) or use the Banks Assessment Calculator.

Credit Unions

The 2025-26 assessment rate was set at $1.02 per $1,000 of assets, an increase of $0.02 from last year’s rate of $1.00. DFPI emailed invoices on Jul 1. Payments will be due in 30 days, with an additional week allowed for payments made via electronic funds transfer (EFT). If you have any questions about the calculation of the assessment for your credit union, please refer to How to Calculate Your Assessment for credit unions (PDF) or use the Credit Unions assessment calculator.

Money Transmitter

The 2025-26 assessment rate was set at $0.015 per $1,000 received for transmission by a licensee in calendar year 2023, unchanged from last year’s rate. The 2025-26 assessment rate for issuers of payment instruments and stored value was set at $0.63 per $1,000 of total payment instruments and stored value sold by a licensee. The rate has not changed since 2012.

Invoices were emailed on Jul 1. Payments will be due in 30 days, with an additional week allowed for payments made via electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Questions regarding assessment payment processing should be directed to Accounting at [email protected]

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Money Transmission Act – Comments Due July 15, 2025

The Commissioner of the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation proposes to amend California Code of Regulations, Title 10, Sections 80.4119 and 80.5200.1 as set forth in the documents below. The proposed action would amend the officer certification requirement for money transmission receipts. The Commissioner will consider all comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action.

The Commissioner will consider all comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action.

• Notice of Proposed Action – Notice of Proposed Action (PDF)
• Text of Proposed Regulations – Text of Proposed Regulations (PDF)
• Initial Statement of Reasons – Initial Statement of Reasons (PDF)

Time for Comments

The Commissioner invites interested parties to submit comments by July 15, 2025.

Submit comments by any of the following methods:

• By email to: [email protected]. Please include “PRO 05-24” in the subject line. Comments submitted as attachments in Microsoft Word format (.docx) are preferred.
• By postal mail to: Department of Financial Protection and Innovation / Attn: Diana Pha, Regulations Coordinator, Legal Division, 651 Bannon Street, Ste. 300, Sacramento, CA 95811

Escrow News

Join the Escrow Advisory Committee

The Escrow Advisory Committee currently has an open position for a representative of small-sized escrow companies.

In addition, three more positions will become available after August 2025:

• A representative for escrow companies with a business specialization
• A representative for medium-sized escrow companies
• An attorney

The Committee is established under Financial Code Section 17214. Its purpose, as set forth in statute, is to assist the Commissioner in carrying out responsibilities under the Escrow Law. The Committee consists of eleven members, including the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee. Committee members, other than those representing the Escrow Institute of California and the Escrow Agents’ Fidelity Corporation, are appointed by the Commissioner. The Committee meets at least once each quarter at the Department’s office.

Qualified individuals are encouraged to apply by submitting a letter of qualification and a resume to:

Paul Liang
Assistant Deputy Commissioner
320 West 4th Street, Suite 750
Los Angeles, California 90013

Submission Deadline: July 10, 2025

For questions or additional information, please contact Paul Liang at (213) 576-7535 or [email protected].

Joint DFPI & DRE Bulletin: Unlawful Commission Disbursements in Real Estate Transactions

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and the Department of Real Estate (DRE) are jointly alerting licensees and industry participants of improper commission disbursement practices. Specifically, the departments have identified cases where real estate brokers instruct escrow or settlement agents to use Commission Disbursement Authorizations to pay personal or business expenses, or individuals/entities not licensed to receive such payments. These actions may violate California’s Real Estate Law and Escrow Law and compromise the integrity of real estate transactions. For more information, refer to the Escrow page under the Publications section to view a copy of the joint bulletin: https://dfpi.ca.gov/regulated-industries/escrow-law/.

Some Escrow Annual Reports Due July 15

Escrow agents are required to submit to the Commissioner an annual report prepared by an independent certified public accountant (Financial Code section 17406) within 105 days after the close of the escrow agent’s fiscal year. The annual report includes audited financial statements and required supplemental information.

If your fiscal year ended on March 31, 2025, your annual report is due July 15, 2025. Please have your CPA email your report to [email protected] by the deadline using a secured, encrypted delivery system. The use of a secured dropbox is also acceptable. If your CPA is unable to submit the annual report electronically, it can be mailed to Queen Padilla, Senior Financial Institutions Examiner, Escrow Law, Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, 320 West Fourth Street, Suite 750, Los Angeles, CA 90013.

Penalties for failure to file the annual report by the due date or to include required information are $100 per day for the first five days a report is late and $500 per day thereafter (Financial Code section 17408). Failure to file a report or to include any required information may also result in the suspension or revocation of an escrow agent’s license or prompt an immediate examination (Financial Code section 17602.5). For questions about the annual reports, email [email protected].

Escrow Assessment Increase 

The annual escrow assessment has increased from $2,800 to $7,215 following the Governor’s signing of AB 137 on June 30, 2025. Licensees are reminded to budget accordingly for the next annual assessment. 

Trust News

At the end of each quarter, the Commissioner of the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) requires trust companies, state-chartered banks with trust powers, and foreign other state banks, national banks and federal savings banks doing a trust business in this state to submit Call Reports

Links to the Adobe Sign Web Forms and PDF instructions for submitting the Call Report are detailed below.

The second quarter call report as of June 30, 2025 is due July 31, 2025.

Adobe Sign Web Form Now Mandatory

Reports that are submitted in other formats will not be accepted for filing.

All call report forms must be submitted online using an Adobe Sign web form.

Submission process:

1. The preparer completes the form and sends it to a signer.
2. The signer signs the form and sends it to a second person for countersignature. (Note: the preparer may also be a signer).
3. After the report is countersigned, it is filed by clicking a button in Adobe Sign.
4. The countersigner also has the option of saving a PDF copy of the signed form.

Important Notes:

• The entire process–including signing, countersigning and filing– must be completed within Adobe Sign. Reports that are submitted in other formats will not be accepted for filing.
• Once the form is signed, it cannot be edited. If an error is found after signing, a new form must be completed.

Instructions to Download and Complete Call Report Form

• Access the Adobe Sign web form and instructions here:

  • Trust Company Report of Condition (Webform)
    • Trust Company Report of Condition Instructions (PDF)
  • DFPI 505 – Schedule T – Fiduciary and Related Services (Webform)
    • Schedule T – Fiduciary and Related Services Instructions (PDF)
  • DFPI 506 – Schedule U (Webform)
    • Schedule U Instructions (PDF)
  • DFPI 524 – Trust Company Report of Income (Webform)
    • Trust Company Report of Income Instructions (PDF)

DFPI Contacts

If you have questions regarding accessing, inputting or submitting the form, please contact Patrick Carroll at [email protected].  If you have questions about completing the form, please contact Thomas Egu at [email protected] or (213) 897-2170; or Cecilia Fuentes at [email protected] or (213) 897-3459.

We appreciate your cooperation in providing accurate information in a timely manner.

Upcoming Consumer Education Event

Each month we educate consumers through community events and a monthly webinar.

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft webinar

July 9, 10-11 a.m.

Learn about the many ways criminals steal personal information and the steps you can take to safeguard your identity. Topics include common tactics, best practices for online security, how to monitor your credit, and how to recover if you become a victim. DFPI hosts in partnership with Asm. Cottie Petrie-Norris (AD73).

Private Postsecondary Institution News

Prepaid or “Pay-As-You-Go” Tuition Payment Options Do Not Require Registration

On June 9, 2025, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued a notice to providers of postsecondary education approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).  The notice included clarification that tuition-only payment plans, including those that do not charge interest or finance charges, meet the definition of education financing, and require registration under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL).  DFPI would like to provide additional information on prepaid, also referred to as “pay-as-you-go”, tuition payment options.

Prepaid or “pay-as-you-go” tuition payment options that require students to pay in advance of the upcoming portion of the academic term or course, and permit students to withdraw any time without penalty or obligation to pay for the remaining periods do not require registration under the CCFPL.

For the applicable definitions of education financing, debt, and credit, please review Financial Code sections 90005(g) and (h), and California Code of Regulations, title 10, sections 1000(f) and 1003.

The registration requirement does not apply to a public postsecondary institution or a private nonprofit postsecondary institution when offering or providing education financing pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 1010(b)(2).

For more information about how to register and registration requirements, please visit the CCFPL Information for New Registrants and Postsecondary Education Financing pages on the DFPI website.

If you are a private postsecondary education institution that offers to provide or provides education financing to California residents and required to register, please file an application for CCFPL registration through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) immediately.

If you are a postsecondary education institution that is not subject to this registration requirement or have already applied for registration through NMLS, you can disregard this notice and no further action is necessary.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Franchise Investment Law: New Filing Fees

AB 137 (Chapter 20, Statutes of 2025) was signed into law by Governor Newsom on June 30, 2025. Now in effect, the new law changes the fees for franchise filings in the Franchise Investment Law (Fin. Code, § 31000 et seq.) to the following amounts:

• Franchise Registration ( Fin. Code, § 31111): $1,865
• Franchise Renewal ( Fin. Code, § 31121): $1,245
• Initial Notices of Exemption: $1,245
  • Financial Code section 31101 (Large Franchisor)
  • Financial Code section 31104 (Petroleum Distributor)
  • Financial Code section 31106 (Experienced Franchisee)
  • Financial Code section 31108 (Fractional Franchise)
  • Franchise Code section 31109 (Large Franchisee)
• Subsequent Exemption Notices for the following calendar year (Fin. Code, §§ 31101, 31104, 31106, 31108, and 31109): $415
• Notices of Violation (Fin. Code, §§ 31303, 31304): $1,865

Other filing types not referenced above will remain the same.

Aid for homeowners recovering from recent disasters

Applications for the CalAssist Mortgage Fund are now open. This relief is available to low- to middle-income families whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable by a disaster such as the LA wildfires.